Welcome to Final Fantasy XIV's Beta

Square Enix shares first images from the updated version. Plus, take a tour around Limsa Lominsa.

By Anoop Gantayat

A few lucky gamers have been taking part in an alpha test for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV these past few weeks. The game they've been playing looks a little something like this:

At some point in the hopefully not-so-distant future, Square Enix will be taking the game from alpha to closed beta. This is what that same scene will look like then:

FFXIV producer Hiromichi Tanaka has, in previous interviews, promised some visual updates from the alpha version. This is apparently what he was talking about.

Square Enix updated the Japanese press today with first screenshots from the beta build. Included in the batch of shots was a map of the world of Eorza.

You'll also find lots of new screens from around the city of Limsa Lominsa in our media gallery. This is the sole city that alpha players have access to, although based off the above screen comparison, their experience doesn't look quite so nice.